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The storm had come out of nowhere.
Even Kanan hadn’t sensed it coming until it was too late. Ezra, still new to understanding his powers, certainly hadn’t.
Kanan kept a tight grip on the youngest crew member’s arm as waves slammed against the Ghost’s hull. Ezra made no attempt to pull away, staying close to Kanan’s side. It was the boy’s first storm at sea and Kanan could feel the fear snapping through him with every flash of lightning across the sky.
Ezra flinched as the wind picked up, battering against them so hard that the kid was nearly slammed into the mast.
“Just hang on!” Kanan shouted, raising his voice above the howl of the wind and rain. He secured one end of the rope he held to the mast, tying it tightly. He was about to wrap the other end around the boy’s waist when the air exploded around them. The Ghost pitched sideways as a massive wave struck it. Kanan staggered into the mast, Ezra slipping out of his grip as he was knocked onto the deck, hands scrabbling at the wood as he rolled away.
Kanan steadied himself, squinting through the pouring rain as he searched for Ezra. The kid was stumbling to his feet on the other side of the ship, clinging to the gunnel. Time seemed to freeze for a split second as Kanan saw another wave building close to the ship. Too close.
Before Kanan could shout for Ezra to move or hold on or anything, the wave crashed over the deck. Kanan ducked his head as the water temporarily blinded him. He clung to the mast, unable to do anything as the water swallowed Ezra up. If the kid just held on, maybe he’d be fine. Maybe…
But when the wave subsided, Ezra was gone.
Kanan grabbed the rope that had been meant for the kid and tied it around his own waist before sprinting to the edge Ezra had been swept off of. In the darkness of the storm, sheets of rain whipping in front of his face, he could see nothing below him. But he couldn’t just leave Ezra to drown.
“Go!” Zeb called. “We’ll pull you back in!”
Kanan closed his eyes for a second, focusing on the small amount of warmth his body had left in it and binding it to him. It wasn’t much, but it would keep him conscious as he rescued the kid. Without hesitating another moment, he threw himself over the side.
The shock of the icy water was enough that Kanan barely kept himself from gasping as it struck him. Still, he forced himself to move, treading water for a moment as he scanned the choppy waves for any sign of Ezra. But he knew it was no use. The kid was probably sinking right now, and every second he wasted was a second too long.
Kanan let himself fall beneath the waves, not fighting the currents that tore relentlessly at him.
Where is he?
He reached out, searching the whirlwind of life in the sea for the sparks he knew to be Ezra.
Show me.
Those sparks were flickering, terrified and frantic as they began to fade. Ezra was somewhere below him, plummeting as the waves dashed him furiously around.
Now Kanan fought. He swam downward until he saw a dark, familiar shadow take shape. Ezra was there, just a few feet away. It wasn’t too late.
And then the rope went taut.
Kanan reached out, straining against the rope as Ezra slipped further away from him. He could feel the sea churning around them, threatening to pull the boy even deeper, drag him down where no one would be able to reach him.
No.
He wouldn’t let that happen. Not after he’d promised to protect the kid. After everything Ezra had been through, he wasn’t going to die like this.
Reaching for the power he’d tried not to touch for years, Kanan pulled at the currents that surrounded him, calling for their help. Suddenly, Ezra shot upward, propelled by an unnatural current until he was close enough for Kanan to grab his arm, and not a moment too soon. A sharp burn was swiftly building in Kanan's lungs. His magic allowed him to last longer without air than an ordinary person, but not by much, and he was dangerously close to his limit. Pulling Ezra in close, Kanan kicked quickly, dragging the boy back to the surface alongside him.
Kanan gasped as he emerged from the water, his aching chest screaming with relief. He yanked hard on the rope to signal Zeb to pull them back up, every ounce of his own strength focused on keeping himself and Ezra afloat as the waves battered at them. As they were dragged backward toward the ship, a rope ladder was flung over the side. Kanan grabbed hold of it with one hand, shifting Ezra’s weight onto his shoulder as he started to pull himself up. Even between his own strength and Zeb’s, it was a slow, terrifying journey back onto the ship. With every gust of wind that slammed against them, the ladder shook. Kanan clung to Ezra tight enough he thought the kid’s bones might crack beneath his grip.
When at long last they made it back onto the Ghost, they collapsed in a heap on the deck, Kanan gasping for breath and Ezra lying eerily, unnaturally still.
For a moment, looking down at the unconscious (not dead, not dead, he couldn’t be dead) boy, Kanan didn’t even feel the storm raging around them. He hefted Ezra up into a sitting position, laying a hand on the boy’s back and reaching inward. He could feel the water in Ezra’s lungs, choking him from the inside. He pulled at it, forcing it up Ezra’s throat until suddenly it poured from the boy’s mouth.
Ezra’s eyes snapped open as he started gasping and coughing, frantically looking around as he pieced together what happened.
“Get him below!” Hera shouted, her voice barely rising over the furious roar of the wind.
Kanan hauled the boy to his feet, supporting him as they stumbled below deck. Ezra didn’t even try to pretend he could make it on his own, leaning all his weight on Kanan. As Kanan set the boy down, Ezra curled in on himself, his teeth chattering.
“Here,” Kanan said. He crouched down and grabbed the bottom of Ezra’s shirt and lifted it gently. The wet fabric clung to Ezra’s skin, making the kid shudder as Kanan pulled it away.
Ezra stood up, bracing a hand against the hull of the ship as he silently removed the rest of his clothing. Kanan threw a dry blanket around him, wrapping the boy tightly in it. Ezra sank back to the floor, clutching the blanket around himself as he stared blankly into space with glassy, tired eyes.
“I… I thought I was dead.”
His voice was raspy and exhausted, sounding like it was being pulled from him involuntarily.
“You almost were,” Kanan told him.
There was another crash of thunder and the ship swayed violently around them. Ezra flinched, squeezing his eyes shut and clutching the blanket tighter. For a split second, he looked a lifetime younger than his fourteen years.
“It’ll be okay,” Kanan said. “The Ghost always makes it through storms.”
Ezra reached out, pressing a hand gently against the hull.
“Because you protect it.”
“And because Hera’s at the helm.”
For a moment, Ezra just stared at the point where his hand touched the ship. He almost looked like he was listening to something. Kanan had felt it before, too. The sense that the ship was almost alive. Like pieces of her crew lived within her.
As Ezra pulled his hand back into the cocoon he was wrapped in, he shivered again. Kanan knelt down beside him, placing a hand on the boy’s back. Closing his eyes, he reached for the warmth he’d sealed within his own body and gently pushed it toward Ezra.
Ezra looked over at him, eyes wide with fascination.
“Was that you?”
“It was.”
“You need to teach me how to do that,” Ezra said. Kanan felt a pang of guilt even as he nodded in agreement. He’d promised to teach Ezra to use his gifts. But he’d only shown the kid the very basics, afraid to go any further. If he hadn’t been so hesitant, if he’d just kept his promises, Ezra might not have come so close to death tonight.
“I will,” Kanan said. Outside, the thunder crashed and another wave slammed against the ship, making it rock violently. Ezra whimpered, his hand flashing out and grabbing hold of Kanan’s. Kanan squeezed his fingers, doing his best to comfort the kid. “Let’s focus on getting through this storm first.”